Invalid lifter and carrier



TIASQRQSQJ Apr. 1%, 1923.

S. S. JENKINS INVALID LIFTER AND CARRIER 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Apl. 21 1922 Apr. W, 1923.

S. JENKINS INVALID LIFTER AND CARRIER Filed Apr 21, 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Apr. 10, 1923.

STANLEY S. JENKINS, F BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

mum :trr'ran man came.

Application filed April 21, 1922, serial Ito. 555,897.

To all whom it my concern:

Be it known that I, STANLEY S. JnNKINs,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Bufialo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Invalid Lifters and Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

' This invention pertains to a portable apparatus by means of which a patient who is able to sit up but unable to walk may be lifted from a bed and transported to the bath room, or to a couch or other location, and in which the patient may comfortably sit for a considerable period of time, if desired.

One of the primary purposes of this invention is the provision of an apparatus of this character which can be easily manipulated to raise or lower the patient, which will be strong and durable in construction and of pleasing appearance, and which will turn within narrow limits, and be capable of readily passing through doors, halls, and the like so that patients may be expeditiously moved about in hospitals or the homes.

On the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, and referring thereto Fig. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views on the lines 3-3 and 4-4 of Fig. 1;

, Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5--5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the seat; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

The apparatus comprises primarily a frame preferably made of round metal piping having brazed joints, although other preferred construction might be employed. The frame consists of the base members 11 mounted upon swivel casters 12 and a pair of upright forward members v13 and a pair of rear upright members 14, the forward uprights being connected at their upper ends by a cross bar 15 and the rear uprights by a cross bar 16. A substantially yoke-shaped upper frame member 17 is connected to the various uprights and to the cross bars 15 and 16, the arched or forward portion 18 extending parallel with the cross bars. Rearwardly of'the uprights 14: the spaced ends of the member 17 project upwardly and rearwardly providing the arms 19 between which the patient is supported, as will be hereafter apparent.

At the rear extremity of each arm there is rotatably mounted a pulley 21 enclosed in a suitable housing 22, and forwardly of the cross bar 15 there is journaled in suitable gusset plates 23 a transversely extending shaft 2% equipped at each end, in alinement with the pulleys 21, with pulleys or sprocket wheels, as the case may be, 25. These-wheels are also enclosed in suitable housings 26, each formed by a pair of connected gusset plates.

To each of these wheels 25 there is connected by a clamp 27, or otherwise, one end of a sprocket chain or cable 28 which is trained over its respective pulley 21, the depending end thereof being provided with an eye or loop 29. For the purpose of enclosing these cables or chains, so as to prevent the patient or others from coming in contact therewith, and also for the purpose of strengthening the structure, and furthermore to add to the attractiveness of the appearance of the apparatus, these cables or chains are enclosed between the pulleys 21 and. wheels 25 in housings 31 which may be either of tubular construction or prefera bly as disclosed, formed from two opposed channel irons 32 and 33, as shown in Fig. 5. The tubular housings or casings 31 not only house the flexible connections but also constitute braces for the arms 19.

The shaft 2%, with the wheels 25 fixedly mounted thereon, is rotated to raise or lower the depending ends of the cables or chains 28, by means of a worm gear 34 keyed to -the shaft 24.- intermediate its ends and meshing with and adapted to be driven by a worm 35 fixed on a shaft 36 which is equipped with an operating handle 37 disposed at the front of the device. The shaft 36 is journaled in brackets 38 and 39 depending from the cross members 15 and 18 ;i-e{ spec-tively, as will be apparent from Fig; 4:;

The patient .is carried upon a seat designated generally'by reference character 41 preferably made of canvas or other suitable material secured at its ends to spacing bars 42'from.the ends of which extend cables or ropes 43 connected with a hook 44, each of which is adapted to engage with an eye 29 on the cables 28 by which the seat is sus pended. For the purpose of absorbing shocks and jars incident to moving the patient about with this apparatus, I prefer to'cross connect each pair of supporting cables 43 with a coil spring 45 which normally draws the cables together, but which will permit them to be partially separated when Weight is applied to the seat, and the resistance offered by these springs to the drawing of the cables into straight lines provides a cushioning effect for the seat which materially increases its comfort.

While the seatproper may be made merely of canvas, I prefer to make it of two thicknesses open at one end so as to provide in effect an envelope into which a wooden or other relatively stiff board 46 may be inserted thereby holding the ends of the seat apart so that undesirable pressure whch might result from the sagging of a canvas seat may not be exerted upon the hips of the patient. The canvas portion of the seat and also the board are preferably provided with a central opening 48 for toilet convenience, and this opening may be covered if desired by a flap 49 attached at one edge to the seat and when laid across the opening, this flap may be secured in position by buttons or preferably by tapes 51 and 52 adapted to be tied together. Loops 53 may also be provided to prevent the tapes from being drawn across the seat.

In order to add to the comfort of the patient should he desire to sit in the carrier for any extended length of time, I have provided aback rest or support54 which is preferably made of canvas and may be padded if desired, and at each end this back rest is provided with a hook 55 adapted to be engaged in the eyes 29 as will be apparent from Figs. 1 and 2. A foot. rest 56 preferably made of metal and rubber-covered on its upper surface is disposed in inclined position between the uprights l3 and 14, and

the angle or inclination of this foot rest may be adjusted to the comfort of the patient by,

moving it forwardly or rearwardly on the base members 11, which are provided with a plurality of pins or studs 57 against which the lower edge of the foot rest may abut to thereby hold it in inclined position.

When using my invention the seat is detached from the cables and laid on the edge of the bed alongside the patient. The patient is then brought to sitting position with his legs extending over the side of the bed, in which position he is sitting upon the detached seat. The crank handle 37 is then manipulated to lower the .eyes 29 sufliciently to perm't the hooks 44 to be engaged therewith. The handle is then rotated in the opposite direction so as to thereby wind up the cables on the wheels 25 and lift the patient clear of the bed. The itch of the worm 35 is such that the sha t 24 will be automatically locked in any adjusted position, and the patient may now be transported by simply trundling the carrier with the patient sitting thereon. The opening in the seat obviates the necessity of removing the patient from the seat when such procedure would otherwise be necessary and the structure of the seat, together with the yielding springs 45 and the back rest 54, provide a comfortable. apparatus in which the patient may sit for a considerable period. It is manifest, therefore, that my invention possesses many of the comforts of" a wheel chair, and in addition, other advantages, as well as the capability of handling the atient without the necessity of the exertion required to manuallv lift the patient.

The structural details illustrated and described are obviously capable of wide modification and variation without departing from the essence of the invention as defined in the following claim.

I claim:

An invalid lifter and carrier, comprising a substantially rectangular base frame, front and rear pairs of uprights rising from the base frame, front and rear cross bars connecting the tops of the respective uprights, a substantially U-shaped top yoke connected to the uprights arid cross bars with its arched end projecting beyond the front uprights, the sides of the yoke constituting arms extending upwardly and rearwardly from the rear uprights, pulleys at'the upper ends of the arms, a shaft mounted across the arched end of the yoke,

drums on the shaft, flexible elements depending from and trained over said pulleys and connected to'the drums, tubular casin s housing the flexible elements between t e pulleys and the drums and constituting arm braces, a worm gear onthe shaft, a worm engaging the gear and mounted in brackets on the front cross bar and the arched end of the yoke, and operating means for the worm.

STANLEY S. JENKINS 

